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Report: Mike Wallace says he won’t sign “until he has to”

Report: Mike Wallace says he won’t sign “until he has to”

Posted by Mike Florio on April 22, 2012

With the period for restricted free agency movement concluded, and with no restricted free agents signing offer sheets with new teams, those who have yet to sign tender offers from their current teams must decide when and if to do so.

Steelers receiver Mike Wallace, the highest-profile restricted free agent without a contract, reportedly doesn’t plan to do so any time soon.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Wallace has told some within the organization that he doesn’t plan to accept the one-year, $2.7 million tender offer “until he has to.”

The question becomes when does he have to?

As Schefter points out, the CBA allows the Steelers on June 15 to withdraw the tender and replace it with an offer equal to 110 percent of his 2011 base salary, which for Wallace would equate to $577,000.

Still, he could hold out even longer, skipping training camp and the preseason and up to 10 weeks of the regular season. At that point, he could sign the tender, receive he prorated base salary under the $577,000 tender (i.e., $237,000), and then become an unrestricted free agent (subject to the franchise or transition tag) in 2013.

Wallace ultimately must ask himself if it’s worth giving up more than 90 percent of the current tender in order to exert maximum leverage toward a long-term deal now — and to expose himself to minimal injury risk before putting himself in position to achieve a major payday. The manner in which he balances these competing considerations will directly influence his assessment of the day on the calendar that equates to “until he has to.”

Report: Mike Wallace Told 'Some' in Steelers Organization He Won't Sign Until He Has To

by Neal Coolong on Apr 22, 2012

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on ESPN Radio as well as his own tweet Sunday morning Steelers WR Mike Wallace indicated to more than one person within the Steelers organization he won't sign his tender offer from the Steelers "until he has to."

This isn't exactly surprising (we mentioned the likelihood of him not signing it for a while). He has until June 15 to sign his tender before the Steelers can reduce the one-year contract from $2.7 million to $577,500.

The report suggests, then, Wallace would wait until then to sign it, and it's really nothing more than a negotiating tactic. If he signed the tender now, the Steelers wouldn't have any particular reason on the surface to negotiate any further. In other words, if Wallace wants more than $2.7 million this season, it's not in his best interest to lock himself in now, when he still has roughly two months to continue to work toward a long-term deal - something both sides have said they want.

If he holds true to that, it would mean he wouldn't be under contract during the Steelers' designated Organized Team Activities - OTAs - which go from May 22 to June 14. It isn't likely he would attend these voluntary activities if he isn't under contract.

How big of a deal it will be for him to not be in attendance isn't clear, though. Some players won't attend even if they are under contract. Top to bottom, it's really just Wallace hanging onto a reasonable and valid bargaining chip.

It'd be a different story if he was talking about missing training camp, which begins in late July.

I think "until he has to" means June 15. He'll stay away from minicamps and OTA's in the meantime, hoping that Bus Cook and Omar Khan are able to come up with a long term deal that works out for both sides before then. I predict he signs the $2.7 million tender on June 15, and reports to camp in Latrobe with the team in July. Hopefully something works out before we halt negotiations during the regular season. I don't see Vincent Jackson when I look at Mike Wallace...I don't see him trying to pull "sit out the first 10 weeks" tactic.

Does Mike Wallace Really Think He Can Win a Staring Contest Against the Pittsburgh Steelers?

by Anthony Defeo on Apr 20, 2012

Last week, it was reported that Mike Wallace, a restricted free agent, had decided that he wasn't going to sign the Steelers $2.7 million one year tender. This indicated that Wallace's intention was to draw a line in the sand and enter into a battle of wills with the Pittsburgh Steelers. You knew that already, of course. Neal Coolong summarized that quite succinctly last week when the news first broke.

That's old news.

What's even older news is that it's almost impossible to win a staring contest with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Wallace doesn't know this, his agent should, and they should probably try to come up with a better plan if they're going to get what they want.

More highly decorated Steelers than Mike Wallace have tried this tactic in the past, and they have failed.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the most disciplined approaches to running a business in all of professional sports. If they establish a way of doing things, a policy, they very rarely go off course.

For example, the Steeler hardly ever make big splashes in free agency. This often frustrates fans who want them to go hard after the top names each and every offseason. But the Steelers would rather build through the draft, develop their own stars, and sign them to huge deals when the time is right. The team just ignores the protests from the outside, continues to do their thing every year, and it has worked to the tune of being the most successful franchise in the NFL over the past 40 seasons.

The Steelers have also set a precedent of not re-negotiating contracts during the regular season.

In 1988, Pro Bowl linebacker Mike Merriweather held out the entire season despite still being under contract. The Steelers never gave in to this negotiation tactic, and they simply traded him away for a first round pick in 1989.

Want a more recent example? In 2005, Hines Ward, one of the greatest Steelers of all-time, held out the first couple of weeks of training camp because he wanted a new deal even though he still had another year remaining on his then current contract.

Did Hines think it was going to work? I don't know. But it wasn't long before then coach Bill Cowher persuaded Ward to come to camp, and it wasn't long before the team took care of him with a new contract. Yes, Ward eventually got his deal, but that's because he came to his senses and, unlike Merriweather, decided to negotiate in good faith. Had Ward continued to hold out, he probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere.

That's two examples nearly two-decades apart of how the Steelers handle strong-arm negotiation tactics. They simply don't back down.

Wallace should take notes.

There has been speculation floating around over the past few weeks that Wallace wants Larry Fitzgerald money. I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know that he's not going to get that kind of money from the Steelers, not with their salary cap situation being what it is. The team had to cut ties with a few veterans and ask a few others to re-structure their contracts just so they could barely get under the cap.

Very few restricted free agents sign offer sheets, but Wallace is an attractive enough receiver--the best deep threat in the game-- that you would think someone would have taken at least a slight interest in him and tried to sign him to an offer sheet. The fact that Wallace has had very little interest from other teams at this late point is a pretty fair indication that maybe he is over-valuing his worth just a little bit.

I don't think Wallace has much leverage at this point. His only real recourse is to sign the tender sheet and play out his last year with the Steelers and see what happens.

Do I think Wallace is worth Fitzgerald money? Personally, no, not yet. But that's just my opinion, and things would change pretty fast if Wallace goes out and sets the league on fire this season.

If he establishes himself to be the equal to Fitzgerald and receivers like him, Wallace will have the leverage as he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2013..

And, who knows? The Steelers might actually be willing to find a way to give him a fair market deal.

As I said, the Steelers may hold their ground when re-negotiating, but they do want to keep their own stars whenever they can.

As a restricted free agent, Mike Wallace is under no obligation to sign anything or do anything. But he owes it to himself to at least sign the tender sheet if he and the Steelers can't come to an agreement before training camp.

If he wants his big contract, he has a 16-week job interview coming up to show the Steelers and the rest of the NFL what he's truly worth.

That's his best option. Hopefully, he'll come around, because the Steelers aren't going to change their approach to business.

I think "until he has to" means June 15. He'll stay away from minicamps and OTA's in the meantime, hoping that Bus Cook and Omar Khan are able to come up with a long term deal that works out for both sides before then. I predict he signs the $2.7 million tender on June 15, and reports to camp in Latrobe with the team in July. Hopefully something works out before we halt negotiations during the regular season. I don't see Vincent Jackson when I look at Mike Wallace...I don't see him trying to pull "sit out the first 10 weeks" tactic.

Yeah, I think at this point, there is perhaps a bit of negotiating and posturing, but nothing serious.

I hope the greedy, egotistical idiot falls down the steps and breaks both his legs.

Not really but I'm sure that would evoke an emotional response with the "all is lost without Wallace" crowd. What I really hope is Wallace doesn't turn into a jackass through this and guarantee himself a ticket out of town. I like Wallace but he isn't worth the ridiculous off season contracts given to other WRs who too will not in all probability perform up to them. I just don't want to see the Steelers make the same mistake.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!